Drinking cup assembly



Sept-7, 1943- J. J. BAUMAN 2,328,543

DRINKING CUP ASSEMBLY Fiied Dec. 25. v1940 Patented Sept. .1,943

DRINKING CUP ASSEMBLY Joseph J. Bauman, Chicago, lll., assignor to Kurz-Rasch, Inc., Dayton, Ohio, a corporation jor ohio "l Application December 23,194, serial No. 371,304y

`(ci. zzo- 4) 5Claims.

This invention pertains to packaging articles, and more particularly to a drinking cup assembly wherein a plurality of cups are detachably interengaged with each other for convenient storage and transportation.

Heretofore, sets of cups of such sizes and proportions that a plurality thereof could be nested one inside another have been provided for travel and picnic use, and for other informal occasions. However, to enable such nested assembly of cups, the outermost cup must be of abnormally large size to receive all the others, and the innex` cup of such aembly must necessarily be of a size too small to be practical. The present invention pertains to an assembly wherein a set of collectively arranged vcups may be. of approximately equal size with minimum difference of their capacities.

In the present disclosure there is contemplated a set of at least four cups of two sizes only. The cups are detachably interconnected mouth to mouth by a coupling member, which may serve`1 as a cover for the unused cups, or, when provided with holes may be utilized with interconnected cups at opposite sides thereof as a shaker for drinks. The construction and arrangement is such that two sets of cups of different sizes may be combined in a single assembly. The cups comprising the assembly are preferably, although not necessarily, molded from a synthetic resinous or phenolic condensation material.

The object of the invention is to provide a drinking cup assembly which may not only be economically manufactured, but may be conveniently interconnected into a single assembly, and comprises cups of approximately equal size having minimum differences of capacities, and capable of being quickly connected and disconnected and unlikely to get out of repair.

A further object of the invention is to provide an improved coupling member for detachably interconnectng the cups end to end in axial align- I ment.

A further object of the invention is to provide a coupling member common to different sets of cups simultaneously engageable therewith.

A further object of the invention is to provide a coupling member which may serve as a cover for a portion of the cups when not in use.

A further object of the invention is to provide a coupling member for axially connected cups which will enable the interconnected cups to serve as drink mixer or shaler.,

A further object of the invention is to provide a cup assembly and coupling means for the cups possessing the advantageous structural features and inherent meritorious characteristics herein mentioned.

With the above primary and other incidental objects in view as will more fully appear in the specification, the invention intended to be protected by Letters Patent consists of the features of construction, the parts and combinations thereof, and the mode of operation or their equivalents, as hereinafter described or illustrated in the accompanying drawing.

In the drawing, wherein is shown the preferred. but obviously not necessarily the only form of embodiment of theinvention, Fig. 1 is a perviews of thefinterlocking portions of a cup andl .the connecterf befr. lFig. 7 is a perspective view of a porti {ofthe-connecter disc illustrating a modiflcation'4 bywhich the assembly may be made to serve asa drink shaker.

. Like parts are indicated by similar characters 5 of reference throughout the several views.

When traveling, and for picnics, as well as for home use on informal occasions, it is desirable to have cups in sets, which may be assembled easily for convenient storage when not in use. The objection to the usual sets of nested cups is that the cups are all of diierent capacities. While the difference of any two cups of succeeding sizes may not be great, the diierence` of caf pacity between the largest and smallest cups is quite considerable.

In the present assembly, cups of only two different sizes are utilized. Thus the set of four Icups are of approximately equal size and the difference of capacity between the larger and smaller cups is minimized.

In the drawing, I-I are two cups of equal size within each of which is telescopically nested a second cup 2 of but slightly smaller size. 'I'he cups I and 2 are of similar shape and are so proportioned that the outside dimensions of the inner cup 2 substantially agree with the inside dimensions of the outer cup l. The respective pairs of cups, each comprising one larger cup I and a smaller cup 2 nested therein, are'disposed in opposing relation mouth to mouth in axial alignment and are detachably interconnected by a coupling member or co'nnector unit. The connecter comprises a vdisc 4 surrounded by a per# pendicular rim flange 5 projecting equally above and below the plane of the disc. The cups and the connecter are preferably molded from a plastic material and hence possess a limited degree of resiliency. Also for appearance and ornament they are molded of materials of different colors. To interlock the cups within the conl't meer they are formed with a sucht depression inoneandslightprotuberanceonthe other. Theresllimceofthewallotthecupl and the connecter rim S is suiiicient that they maybeinbyspringingtlieeonnecter iiange I over the rim of the cup. However, tor stlii'er material there is preferably provided a short convex rib l of low altitude on .diametrically opposite side; of the cups I adjacent their edges extending in a slightly inclined or helical direction.

Interiorly of the connector rim 5 are indentations 'I in the edge oi' the flange at diametrically opposite positions. Communicating with the indentations I are shallow inclined grooves 8, which provide with the indentations 'I and inclined ribs 6 a form of bayonet joint. By inserting the mouth of the cup I within the ange 5, by entering the ribs 6 within the indentations 'I and then imparting a slight partial rotation to the cups relative to the connecter, these members are interlocked with each other. Before interengaging the oppositely disposed cups I-I with the connector, the cups 2 are enclosed therein. The cups 2 are retained in position by engagement of the cups I with the connecter. To seal the joint and impose a slight tension upon the interengaging areas of the cups and connecter, a ring 9 ci.' resilient packing material is preferably, although not necessarily disposed in a groove I at the base of the ilange 5. The gasket I0 being compressed by the interengagement of the cup with the connecter will exert sufilcient reactive tension to maintain tight en gagement of the interlocking portions. I1' only a part of the cups are in use, the connecter unit may be left on the unused cups as a. protective lid. It may be engaged with a full cup as a closure to prevent loss of its contents.

If it be decided to add to the assembly a set of small cups or jiggersf these may likewise be engaged in concentric pairs in axial opposing relation on opposite sides of the connecter disc 4 in exactly the same relation that the larger cups are so engaged. The assembly of small cups i il and i2 is entirely enclosed within the assembly of larger cups i and 2. In such combination the web or disc d of the connecter or coupling member is provided with a second annular flange i3 corresponding to the peripheral ilange 5, but of smaller diameter agreeing with the external diameters of the small cups Il. In the event that the interconnected cups are to be used as a shaker for mixing drinks, the web or disc 4 of the coupling unit is formed with a series of holes i4 through which the liquid is caused to surge from one cup into another. The cups I and i! may be of any desired size and contour with the cups 2shaped to iit closely Within the cups I and the cups II of a size to be enclosed with the cups 2.

For ornamentation, the outer face of the coupling flange 5 may be inlaid or embossed, as well as of different color from that of the cups. Various color combinations may be eiected by employing distinctive colors for the cups and the coupling member.

From the above description it will be apparent that there is thus provided a device' of the character described possessing the particular features of advantage before enumerated as desirable,` but which obviously is susceptible of modiiieation in its form, proportions, detail construction and arvinvention has been described in language more or less speciilc as to structural features, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the speciilc features shown1 but that the means and construction herein disclosed comprise the preferred form of several modes of putting the invention into eect, and the invention is therefore claimed in any of its forms or modiilcations within the legitimate and valid scope of the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

l. A cup assembly, comprising two pairs of relatively large cups and two pairs of relatively small cups. each pair of cups comprising one cup nested within a second cup of slightly larger size, the pairs of smaller cups being located within the pairs of larger cups in spaced relation therewith, the pairs of cups of corresponding sizes being disposed mouth to mouth in axial alignment, a. connector common to the larger and smaller cups including a transverse web interposed between the opposing pairs of cups of like sizes, concentric perpendicular ilanges on said web projecting in opposite directions from tne plane thereof, and corresponding interlocking devices on contiguous portions of the respective iianges and the outermost of the respective pairs of cups for detachably engaging the cups there- 2. A cup assembly, comprising pairs of cups of dierent size disposed in. reverse relation mouth to mouth in axial alignment with each other, and a detachable coupling member therefor including a transverse perforate web interposed between the cups having therein holes through which the oppositely disposed cups communicate with each other, detachably interconnecting the cups into a unitary assembly.

3. Two pairs of cups, each comprising a cup of smaller size Within a cup of larger size, the pairs of cups being disposed in reverse relation mouth to mouth in axial alignment, and a coupling member releasably interconnecting said cups into a unitary assembly.

An assembly of cups, including caps of large size and cups of small size, dispomd in reverse relation mouth to mouth with cups of like size in axial alignment, with the cups of smaller size in concentric spaced relation within the cups of larger size, and coupling means common to the cups of larger and smaller size, with which the larger and smaller cups are separately detachably interengageable.

5. A cup assembly, including groups of cups of smallersize nested within cups of larger size, the groups of nested cups of dierent size being disposed mouth to mouth in reverse relaon in axial alignment, and coupling means detachably in terconnecting the outermost cups of the opposing groups one to the other independently of the nested cups therewithin, and confining said nested cups of smaller size within the interconnected outer cups.

JOSEPH J. BAUMAN. 

